How S’mores Bring Us Together

Of all the ways to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, loading up on s’mores is likely the sweetest. And that’s exactly what we did this hot American summer. We teamed up with Hershey’s to celebrate the quintessential American treat with recipes geared to all 50 states, festivals, and a showdown. Every spot in this country had a delicious reason to celebrate.

Connecticut “Fall Harvest”, Alaska “Aurora S’morealis”, and Iowa “Field of Dreams”

In addition to curating delicious bites from sea—Maine’s Blueberry Brûlée and Florida’s Key Lime Dream—to shining sea—Alaska’s Aurora S’morealis to California's Golden State Drizzle—we hit the road to celebrate with you, our readers.

In Nashville, our editor Brooke Caison attempted to construct a giant tower of s’mores.

Then, we rolled over to Michigan to cheer for all things cherries—and, of course, bring s’mores into the conversation. We attended a festival where the official s’mores of the event was our Cherry Blossom, a traditional s’more on a honey graham cracker with a sweet-tart spoonful of cherry pie filling.

We wrapped up our travels at The Fair on the Half Shell in Connecticut, where oysters abound—but s’mores were the hot topic. Here, the rules for the S’mores Handbook were written, including unspoken rules and whether the treats are best shared alone or with someone.

Throughout all of this, one big question remains: Is America Camp Toasty or Camp Gooey? This battle began with the S’mores Showdown at Hearst Tower, where Delish editor Makinze Gore and Good Housekeeping editor Sarah Greogory faced off in an Oklahoma (Chocolatey Pecan Pie) versus Tennessee (Smoky Mountain S’more) competition. (Spoiler alert: It was a tie between these two, and Hershey’s chocolate was declared winner.)

This showdown kicked off a poll— we wanted to see if you, our loyal readers, would give us a more solid answer. The results let us know that the nation is also split on toasty versus gooey s’mores.

We might not be able to agree on this question, but this American road trip nailed down two things: Everyone loves a s’more, and Hershey’s is the chocolate that’s destined to be a part of it.